Ryan harshly criticized Comey for deeming Clinton “extremely careless” with her email server and classified material but not following through by recommending an indictment. Ryan said that based on Comey’s own words “it appears damage is being done to the rule of law.”

(Paul Ryan)

“While I respect the law enforcement professionals at the FBI, this announcement defies explanation,” Ryan said. “Declining to prosecute Secretary Clinton for recklessly mishandling and transmitting national security information will set a terrible precedent.”

Ryan also said that Americans will "reject" Clinton's "dishonesty and poor judgment," essentially predicting that Comey's admonishment of Clinton will be an animating issue in the fall elections. Indeed, Clinton is viewed unfavorably by 56 percent of respondents in surveys, according to The Huffington Post's rolling average, just 3 percentage points better than Trump.

Republicans running for Congress trumpeted Clinton’s bad news day as the latest example of Clinton’s untrustworthiness. Republicans hope to capitalize on Comey’s comments and drive up Clinton’s negative ratings further — a coordinated, nationwide GOP campaign strategy that’s shaping up to be more anti-Clinton than pro-Trump.

“The FBI’s recommendation against pursuing charges suggests that she gets to play by a different set of rules than everyone else,” said Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who is in a tight fight for reelection against New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan. “The lives of Americans depend on the protection of classified information, and failing to enforce the law in this case sets a dangerous precedent for our national security.”

Clinton wasn’t immune to some Democratic criticism, either. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois said that he considered the issue “settled” and that the probe made clear that “there is no evidence that Secretary Clinton was ever intentionally involved in anything of a criminal nature.” But when pressed, he also said people shouldn’t “make any excuses” for Clinton’s email woes.

She “should not have been careless when it came to classified information,” Durbin told reporters at a news conference in Illinois on Tuesday, according to an account distributed by his office.

Republicans are hoping Comey’s comments are a gift that keeps giving. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is preparing for a spirited election challenge from Democrat Patty Judge, called on Comey to release information gathered in the investigation rather than “giving the public a brief summary of his view of the facts.”

“If it wants to avoid giving the impression that the FBI was pulling punches, because many people in a similar situation would face some sort of consequence, the agency must now be more transparent than ever in releasing information gathered during its investigation,” Grassley said.

Most Democrats tried to focus on the fact that the FBI did not recommend charges against Clinton. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on Grassley’s committee, said he now trusts the Justice Department to “make a final decision based on facts, not politics,” about whether or not to charge Clinton.

And Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a leading contender to become Clinton’s pick for vice president, chalked up Comey’s scolding of Clinton to being a “matter of lessons learned.”

“I never believed this was going to be something in the criminal realm or even close to it,” Kaine said.

But Comey’s assessment that Clinton was “extremely careless” with classified information was enough for Republicans to run with all day Tuesday — and potentially all the way to November. Conservatives from Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina to Rep. Matt Salmon of Arizona renewed calls for a special prosecutor to take up the case.

“It has become clear that the rules are different for the Clintons than they are for everyday Americans,” Scott said. “And that must stop.”

The Kremlin is debating whether to release the 20,000 emails they have hacked off of Hillary Clinton’s server.

According to a report from four days ago, beginning in 2011, the
Russians began monitoring Romanian computer hacker Marcel Lazăr Lehel
(aka Guccifer) after he attempted, unsuccessfully, to break into the
computer system of the Russian funded RT television network.After monitoring Guccifer, the Russians were reportedly able to
record (both physically and electronically) his actions which allowed
the Russian intelligence analysts, in 2013, to not only detect his
breaking into the private computer of Secretary Clinton, but also break
in and copy all of its contents as well.

The report notes that shortly after Russia obtained Clinton’s emails,
they released a limited amount to RT TV which were published in an
article in March 2013, titled Hillary Clinton’s ‘hacked’ Benghazi emails: FULL RELEASE.

hillary hacked emails

Apparently no Western journalists promoted this story in 2013.

(Vladimir Putin y Hillary Clinton)

A couple of years later, in 2016, the US then brought in Guccifer for
questioning related to this incident. According to the report, NBC news
knew why Guccifer was being questioned but withheld this information
from the American public.

The Associated Press reported in October 2015 that “Hillary Clinton’s
private email server maintained in her home while serving as secretary
of State was possibly hacked by Russia-tied authorities, and others, on
five separate occasions.”

The AP report noted that investigators discovered among Clinton’s
cache of released emails malicious software aimed at transmitting data
to three overseas computers, including at least one in Russia. This
malicious software was reportedly activated by clicking on it; but in
October it was not clear if Clinton actually opened these messages or
not, per the AP.

Recently separate reports have come out noting that Guccifer had indeed
hacked Clinton’s emails. Now according to this latest report, Clinton’s
server was not only compromised by Guccifer but also by Russia.
Guccifer told FOX News last week that he hacked Hillary’s homebrew
server and so did at least 10 others.

“There’s a debate going on in the Kremlin between the Foreign
Ministry and the Intelligence Services about whether they should release
the 20,000 of Mrs. Clinton’s emails that they have hacked into.”

Hillary Clinton for months has downplayed the FBI investigation into her
private email server and practices as a mere “security inquiry.”

But when asked Wednesday by Fox News about Clinton's characterization of
the bureau's probe, FBI Director James Comey said he doesn’t know what
"security inquiry" means -- adding, “We’re conducting an investigation. …
That’s what we do.”

The FBI director reiterated that he’s “not familiar with the term security inquiry” when told that is the phrase Clinton has used.

(Director del FBI James Comey)

As for the timeline for the investigation, Comey, during a briefing with
reporters, said he prefers doing the investigation “well” over promptly
and said he’s not “tethered” to a schedule.

The briefing comes amid reports that FBI investigators have been meeting
with top aides in Clinton’s inner circle, including Huma Abedin and
Cheryl Mills. The interviews have stoked speculation that the
investigation may soon be drawing to a close, in the heat of the 2016
political season.

Asked Wednesday if he would make a public report, regardless of whether
criminal charges are pursued, Comey said he would not say at this time.
But he said there are “no special set of rules for anybody that the FBI
investigates.”

Clinton and her campaign team repeatedly have described the probe as a
security inquiry. Most recently on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday,
Clinton used the term when asked how she’d respond to people worried the
FBI probe is a “big deal.”

“I say what I’ve said now for many, many months,” Clinton said. “It’s
a security inquiry. I always took classified material seriously. There
was never any material marked classified that was sent or received by
me, and I look forward to this being wrapped up.”
The FBI probe is proceeding as Clinton tries to wrap up the Democratic
presidential nomination. Though she leads by hundreds of delegates, she
has not yet clinched the nomination and rival Bernie Sanders is vowing
to take the fight to the convention – he fueled his own underdog bid
with a primary win Tuesday in West Virginia.

There appear to be several moving parts in the FBI investigation.

Former State Department IT staffer Bryan Pagliano, who installed and
maintained the server, has been granted immunity by the Department of
Justice and is cooperating with the FBI.

In another development, the infamous Romanian hacker known as
“Guccifer,” who was extradited to the U.S. to face cyber charges,
recently told Fox News he easily breached Clinton’s personal email
server in early 2013.

Fox News could not independently confirm the claims. But an intelligence
source told Fox News last month that Guccifer, whose real name is
Marcel Lehel Lazar, could help the FBI make the case that Clinton’s
email server may have been compromised by a third party. Lazar told Fox
News that he spoke with the FBI at length on the plane when extradited
from Romania to Virginia last month.

Speaking from the Virginia jail where he’s being held, Lazar said the
conversation was "80 minutes ... recorded," and he took his own notes. A
government source confirmed that the hacker had a lot to say on the
plane but provided no other details.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch also was asked earlier this week about
the timeline for the Clinton email probe, but said she could not make
any “prediction.”
Fox News’ Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.